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Gangs like MS-13 and Barrio 18 are brutal, territorial and difficult to leave, yet many do
The notorious street gangs MS-13 and Barrio 18 are a security concern across Central America. With over 100,000 members, these groups are known for their brutality and tight grip over the communities in which they operate. A well-established myth about these gangs is that once a person enters, they cannot leave. Yet many do. In Exit if You Can, José Miguel Cruz focuses on how members of a violent and highly structured gang manage to leave it and abandon their violent behavior. He argues that how an individual leaves is influenced by two factors: the extent of the gang’s territorial control and the group's organizational sophistication. These variables frame the challenges gang members face when they want to reintegrate into society.
Based on over 100 interviews with former gang members and a survey of more than 2,000 active and former gang members inside and outside the prison system in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras, Cruz shows how former gang members navigate against the criminal governance of their communities and manage to restart their lives. Bolstering discussions about violence prevention policies, Exit if You Can contends that to end gang violence and crime, we need to articulate policies recognizing the role of criminal governance in the communities where gangs thrive.
José Miguel Cruz', Exit if You Can is a much-needed addition to the growing research and policy on gangs, drug distribution and the role of subcultures in Mexican drug sales outside the United States. Specifically, the book focuses on drug distribution and the long-standing conflict among individuals and groups in the Mexican Drug War. As such, the work provides a contribution to methodological issues, sub-cultures, institutional structures and the international structures that facilitate and frustrate groups engaged in gang groups (Secarios). This book should take its place alongside the work from the Eurogang Paradox as well as the ISRD in Europe, in addition to the well as the ongoing work of Charles Katz in building a foundation for policy, theory and interventions. While there is much to learn about the social organization of drug 'wars', Gil creates a foundation for understanding the joining and leaving a drug cartel. One area of great interest is identifying the 'grip of the group' and how it varies from other central and southern American states. Exit if you Can should provide a foundation future work in understanding subcultures in crime, neighborhoods, and other institutions such as prisons, schools, religion and others.